The FastDay Forum

Hi there
I am writing about the 5:2 diet for a feature in the Daily Mail newspaper. I'm looking into recent reports that it causes more side effects in women than men. I'd like to include some first hand accounts of women who have experienced side effects from doing the diet - these might be changes to the menstrual cycle, headaches, mood swings, diarrhoea, low blood sugar. I'm particularly keen to hear from any women who noticed changes to their periods or their periods stopping completely.
We can offer a fee for taking part in the article or a donation to a charity of your choice as a gesture of thanks for taking part.
Please email me at chloe.h.lambert@gmail.com or direct message me if you're interested in giving an interview or finding out more.
Many thanks! Chloe Lambert

Sooo you're looking for just the negatives then?

Can I ask are you doing 5;2 and can therefore base your article your own experiences or are you just looking to slate?

I'm sure plenty on here can tell you about the good side effects, but then would the Daily Mail find this news worthy?

And no you can't quote me x

I should think most of the information you seek exists in the posts on this forum, along with comments from helpful members. I would help you but for being male, having no problems with 5:2 and now being in maintenance, healthier than I have been for ages...

[Moogie]

It is my hope that any interviews will make it apparent that any of these side effects are only short term

For example, headaches are not uncommon in the first few fasts but are often put down to insufficient fluid intake or withdrawal from caffeine etc.

Mood swings, yes I think many of us have experienced some grouchiness due to not knowing how to deal with hunger during the first few fasts, again this does not last. But then as women aren't we prone to changes of mood anyway? I wouldn't really call them mood swings as such, just a tendancy towards grouchiness when you're feeling really hungry. Once you've learned to deal with hunger, the grouchiness goes too.

Diarrhoea - I'd say this can be a side effect of any change of diet as your body adjusts to different foods. I'd also note that in the early days it's easy to overload the body with too much food for breakfast the next day and suffer 'rapid transit' as a consequence. That's more a case of eyes bigger than tummy, we serve up what we're used to eating and don't realise right away that our tummies have just had a break and aren't expecting masses of food. It's very easy to eat a breakfast even though you don't actually feel hungry, and loose stools can be a result of this overloading. Again, this soon passes (pardon the pun) as we learn to be more in tune with our bodies. I find this to be a good thing as it's physical feedback to help learn about what the body needs rather than just what I want.

In terms of periods, I can't speak for everyone but I know mine are easier than they used to be. They sort of sneak up on me now instead of getting horrible cramps as a pre-warning. They also start a little sooner than they used to, so whereas before I would finish my pill pack on a Friday and start my period on a Tuesday afternoon, it has worked its way backwards to late Sunday now. This may be a result of weight loss or it could be my body being a bit more finely tuned now and noticing the lack of pill sooner? I'm actually happy about this, I don't miss the cramps and pains at all!

I was going to offermy services but apart from a few headaches I have not had any side effects! I am post menopause so have no experiences to share in that respect but would be surprised if anyone had experienced sever problems as my knowledge is that extreme lack of food can affect periods and surely the 5:2 is not extreme in any way. I am shocked that a journalist is looking to dish some dirt rather than spreading a really good news story. I have been doing this lifestyle way of eating since February and have lost weight yes but also feel so much better and have more energy and as I say have seen no ill effects at all but that is not going to be reported because it is a good news story and we don't see too many of them!!

The only side effect I've had is being cold on fast days when I first started this. Most of the side effects listed in the original post look more like a run up in the monthly cycle, well mine anyway before age made it irrelevant.

I really can't see why anyone would want to 'slate' this way of eating because it's not, as I have seen reported, extreme or faddy or costly or difficult. But I suppose that makes it a target in itself.

I think it actually does us a service in that it teaches us what hunger feels like and not to be afraid of it.

As for periods stopping - well that is generally caused by extreme dieting which has no place here on this forum - nor in 5:2 generally.

Come on Chloehlambert write a positive article - you'll do more people a greater service with encouraging words rather than disparaging ones.

Hi everyone, thanks for all these responses. In answer to your questions, I'm not following the diet myself but many people I know are, including my mother. And there can be no denying that it can be a safe and extremely successful way to improve health and lose weight. I do however think given the popularity of this diet that it's important for women considering doing it to know what side effects they may experience, and to get some advice for how to approach them or cope with them. So I'd be interested in hearing from women about whether the side effects subsided with time, whether they had to make changes to what they ate on their fasting or non-fasting days, etc. I would be happy to send all interviewees their quotes to check before going to print so they can be reassured the piece is balanced about the benefits as well as the side effects of 52. Izzy, yes that piece was mine. I am freelance but this article is for the Daily Mail.
Do let me know if you're interested in taking part. Chloe

May I suggest you try it yourself for 6 months then report on your own experience

I am not British but I am a woman so I will give my thoughts on this anyway.

I began early june. At the beginning, I felt a bit cold, my periods are fine, more than that, they are now painless and 3 days instead of 5. A 28 days cycle and always at the same time. And I don't take the pill.

No diarrhea, eveything is fine here as well

I had some mood swings but it's because I quit smoking 2 weeks ago, not because of the diet

Since I began dieting, in february (I did a "normal" diet at the beginning), I lost 28 kilos

I have a lot more energy than I had for years. I even do 2 hours sports daily now, which never happened, even when I was a teenager

Everything taste much better and I feel satisfied with much less. For example, when I eat chocolate, only one bite is enough.

No real negative side effects in fact. Sorry....

[carorees]

My take on the 'side-effects' of fasting are that almost all of them are actually due to our bodies not being able to access the fat stores to provide energy. If one constantly feeds the body with carbohydrates, insulin levels are kept high. This is particularly the case in obesity as it is almost always associated with high insulin and with 'metabolic inflexibility' (the technical term for not being able to switch between fuels). When insulin is high, fat cannot be released to provide energy. With repeated fasting the reduced insulin levels mean the body can access fat stores and this is why the 'side-effects' rapidly resolve. So, in fact, the side-effects are more to do with one's previous lifestyle than with the fasting per se.

In women, mobilization of fat releases stored oestrogen and results in temporary changes in hormone levels and so may cause changes in menstrual cycle or acne. This may be one reason that side-effects are more likely in women (if this is truly the case). The other would be that men have larger glycogen stores than women and so do not need to rely so heavily on fat stores during the fast.

If you would like a much fuller explanation of what happens metabolically in our bodies please do PM me. I'm a freelance medical writer myself and have been researching all aspects of fasting, weightloss and obesity by trawling the scientific literature over the last 10 months so I can point you to plenty of scientific info if you need it.

As a post-menopausal woman I have no first hand experience of changes in monthly cycle, however as someone who was very overweight, I can confirm that my first ever fast was extremely tough due to the aforesaid metabolic inflexibility, with exhaustion, bad headache, great thirst, feeling generally very weird and sleeplessness. The next fast was 100-fold better and they continued to improve until, after a couple of months, I stopped feeling any different on fast days to normal days apart from being a bit peckish mid-afternoon. In my nearly year of 5:2 I have lost 4.5 stone...it's all good!

Hi well I'm not going to be of any use to you whatsoever but I will share my journey so far with you,
Started 21 weeks ago with a BMI. over 44
I have lost 35 lbs. and now my BMI. is slightly over 38 ( not bad eh )
Have dropped down. 3 sizes in clothing and my blood pressure is finally normal
In those 21 weeks I've not had any of the slight side effects other members seem to get. Nothing not cold /not hungry.
I've suffered all my adult life with terrible migraines they were absolutely vile making me vomit for 6- 10 hrs at a time. In my 21 weeks I've not had a migraine at all not even a headache, for the first time in my adult life I'm off all meds for them plus off all meds for OE.
All in all a great story for me but nothing for you but I have to add I wouldn't have it any other way. Sue

My first fast gave me a migraine and I was actually sick, which I beleive was due to low blood sugar and my body just not being used to lack of food. But it only happened the very first time and I had no problems after that, other than normal hunger, as your body gets used to it and it gets easier every time you do it.

And even though I didn't to 5:2 very long (Not the fault of the programme, its just I never stick to anything!) I do still use my new found ability to go without food for nearly 24 hours to compensate if I've had a big meal or an unhealthy weekend so I feel fasting has been a benefit to me.

I'm feeling cold today, which is a first for me (12th fast). I keep seeing others posting about feeling cold but it didn't happen to me until now and I think it's because the weather has changed! It was sunny when I went out this morning and I didn't feel cold but when I got home at lunchtime it started raining and I ended up adding layers. I'm perimenopausal so I generate a lot of heat! I've not noticed any change to my now very erratic menstrual cycle (which has been erratic for about 2.5 years).

The first few weeks I was battling extreme tiredness on fast days, to the point I would have an afternoon nap. I'm fasting today though and I don't feel tired at all (I'm 6 weeks in). Otherwise everything seems to be working normally.

Might I advise everyone to make a written contract that says you must see and approve the editorial before it goes to press. Its no use whinging that you never actually said 'that' after its gone to press. Plus if the newspaper does mess you around you can claim compensation.

It's usual Chloe for all the nice people here to welcome new members. So welcome, glad you found time in what must be a very busy schedule and hope you manage many postings of your own experience.

Being male, I can't help you but I'd be grateful if you could post the results of the Daily Mail's MMR campaign so 5:2 Forum members know what to expect from the data they provide.

Please give us a link to the article when it's published.